Ritual Pit
by T.E.D.S
Summary: In deep dungeon, in beautiful city of Halad, a young Assassin fell in love with Malassa's priestess... what will come out of this?
1. Chapter 1 Tharlsan

'Hey, Tharlsan!'  
I opened one eye lazily and looked at my roommate. He brought a Blood Fury to our room. Again. It was his fourth girl this week. It's not that he couldn't live with one for a longer time; it's that they can't stand him, and it gets worse when he drinks.  
This girl was already drunk. I kept lying on my bunk bed, gazing at the ceiling and hearing sounds of orgy in the nearby Blood Memorial. I wondered why Laith brought this girl here, to School of Black Heart, instead of having sex with her there. Then I thought of the Ritual Pit and woman of my heart.  
It started about a month ago. We went for a "little hunt" to Irollan with Vayshan leading us. We all had a great fun killing Sylvan elves, though I was all swollen after a Sprite casted Wasp Swarm on me. I enjoyed this two weeks very much. We caught several captives. Most of them were elves, but there was also one Sprite and one Treant. Right after we returned to Halad, Vayshan took the captives to the Ritual Pit. He was so pleased with our work that he allowed us to watch the sacrifice. I went, but I couldn't look only at killing captives to please Malassa. I gazed at the priestess who killed them. She was beautiful. Her sleek, shiny, dark hair attracted my whole attention. Then, I noticed her breasts. Her smooth skin. Her slender figure. I prayed to Malassa for one her look at me. I didn't even know her name back then, but I knew I was in love with her. After that I asked Vayshan and he told me, with a mysterious smile on his lips, that her name was Yshela. I asked Laith to make a tattoo on my cheek, showing a heart with her name. I dream of taking my mask off just in front of her.  
When I was a young Scout, I spied some humans. They had a song with a line, "I did my best – it wasn't much". I did my best, too. Came to Ritual Pit every day, praying to Malassa and gazing at Yshela. She was always too busy to notice me.


	2. Chapter 2 Tharlsan

Vayshan was so surprised that I didn't join him for his next "Happy hunt". I had a rhyme to the reason for this; the reason was Yshela. I gathered information about her and I found out that she always joined Eruina wherever she went. And as Eruina planned to lead an army to Sheogh, I was first to join her.  
Three days later we set off to Sheogh. We all were quiet as shadows, but what worried me most, I couldn't see Yshela anywhere. When we made a camp for the day, I tried talking about her with several other Assasins, but they didn't know her and we ended up talking about Furies and comparing their tits. It was perfectly OK, we all like watching them and it seemed Furies liked showing them. And in Halad, we had more Furies than us, Assasins.  
We went to sleep late in the day. We got up early, about twilight. My eyes took a good while to adapt to light. Our hunt for demons started. I tried to catch as many demons alive as possible, as I know they would be killed in the Ritual Pit. Eruina seemed satisfied with my work.  
Not seeing Yshela for many days and nights made me nervous, as I always wondered where she could be. I thought she stayed in Halad, but why?


	3. Chapter 3 Tharlsan

I came back to Halad. I gained nothing but a few burn scars in Sheogh. I didn't get any closer to Yshela, as she didn't join Eruina... I felt so disappointed. I lay on my bunk bed, staring at the violet and black ceiling and hearing my room-mates talking on the immortal subject: the Blood Furies. I didn't join them. They were actually too busy to notice I wasn't talking with them. I wanted to watch the sacrifice, but it wasn't tonight. Maybe it was because Vayshan didn't come back from Irollan yet and they wanted to make one big sacrifice instead of two smaller? I had no idea.  
As our leaders let us, the lads made a party. Laith brought lots of his best moonshine and of course the girls from Blood Memorial were invited, too. I wished Yshela came here, too, but how? She didn't even know about our spree and if she did, I wasn't sure if she would come.  
'Hey, Tharlsan... you don't drink, and I did my best to make good moonshine!' Laith said accusingly. I thought of the line "I did my best - it wasn't much" again, but it didn't suit. Laith makes really good moonshine. He hustled a mug of it into my hands. I smiled weakly and took a sip. Through my mask. Since Laith made me a tattoo, I took my mask off only to wash my face. A Blood Fury sat next to me and took my mug. She drank up my moonshine, so I went to Laith to get more. This time I drank half of a mug before I let the Fury drink the rest. I did it again, and again, and again... the Fury lay down on me, so drunk, so helpless, so... so tempting...  
It was her who started. She pulled my hair, and started to undress me. I was sober enough not to let her take off my mask. All other elves in our room were already naked. The Fury lay down on my knees again.  
'Undress me...' she said seductively, winking to me. Oh, her slender figure! Her smooth skin! Her shapely tits! I could spend the while day just with her on my bunk. I kissed her lips, and her forehead, and her tits. I put my hand on her pussy. She was getting wet...  
I couldn't help. Moonshine was leading me - oh Malassa, why did I drink so much? I was like a beast. The Fury was screaming in pain - or maybe bliss. I didn't care.  
Until I heard the door slamming.


	4. Chapter 4 narrator

Several heroes met in one of the caverns.  
'How it's been in Irollan, Vayshan?' Eruina asked. Vayshan smirked.  
'Like always. Lots of wood elves. I've brought something for a sacrifice.'  
'Malassa will be pleased.' Yrwanna stated.  
'For sure She will. I brought something from Sheogh...' Eruina added.  
'Hope She will give us more Furies' Yrwanna said. Kythra snorted.  
'She gave us Furies in previous sacrifice. Now it's time for minotaurs' she said, cracking her whip of slave overseer. They were just about to argue when a crying Shadow Witch ran into the cavern and grabbed Eruina's shirt.  
'He... _sob_ I saw him... _sob_ Drunk... _sob_ With another girl... _sob_' she said, crying. Eruina hugged her warmly and tightly.  
'Hush, Yshela...' she tried to soothe her. 'They just returned from Irollan, it's no weird they want to have some fun...'  
'No! _sob_ He wasn't... _sob_ in Irollan..._sob_ I would have seem him... _sob_ he wasn't..._sob_ I don't know why..._sob_ He would always go to Irollan..._sob_ so I went... _sob_ but he didn't... _sob_'  
'But who?' Eruina asked.  
'Tharl... _sob_ ...san...' Yshela sobbed, wiping her face with Eruina's shirt and smudging her make-up. Eruina fell silent for a while.  
'He went to Sheogh with me' she said.  
Yshela raised her head and Eruina could look deep into her eyes, red from tears, yet full of hope.  
'With... you?' she asked. Eruina nodded.  
'He seemed disappointed all the time. I don't know why... hush, my darling. Don't cry... you're a big girl...'


	5. Chapter 5 Yshela

When I came back to the Hall of Shadow, I couldn't help but sit down on my bed and cry in my pillow. He must have known somehow that I was in love with him, and knowing I was going to Irollan, he gave it up so that he wouldn't meet me… it was so clear. I had no one to blame but myself. I was so stupid that I dared to think he would love me too…  
'Yshela, I got some juice for you' Shattelyn, my roommate said. I smiled weakly and thanked her. Juice is hard to get in Halad and we both just love drinking it, so every time any of us manages to get some, she leaves half for the other one. I took the mug she handed me and smelled the scent of not very fresh, but sweet and fruity juice. I took just one sip and closed my eyes with delight. I've never tasted such a juice…  
The juice took my attention away from Tharlsan for a while. I was really thankful to Shattelyn. I wiped my face and smiled again.  
'Men are so stupid' Shattelyn said. 'You know Reshel, this Grim Raider?'  
'Sure' I nodded. Reshel was quite popular with girls.  
'Well, we had a date' Shattelyn said. 'Everything he could talk about was his lizard. Oh, and tits. I hate him.'  
I laughed. Shattelyn always knew how to cheer me up. We've been friends almost since we were born – on the same day, the same moment. I held her hand calmly.  
'And this Assassin of yours?' Shattelyn suddenly said. It hurt, but she couldn't have known it. I started crying again without a word.  
'Shattelyn, please leave. I must talk to Yshela face to face' I heard.  
'Yes, Master Eruina' Shattelyn said and left. I felt familiar embrace.  
'Yshela... tell me everything'  
'I... I love him, mommy. I love Tharlsan... but he...'  
'...but he came back from Sheogh and got drunk, and got laid with a random Blood Fury whose name he doesn't know.'  
'How can you know this?'  
'All the Assassins are the same. They can either drink or think. Never both. And they never know how much alcohol is too much. Good thing they don't drink during fighting.'  
I cringed in her embrace, still crying.  
'But he... he didn't want to go to Irollan with me...'  
'Did you ask him?' mommy asked.  
'No... but...'  
'How can you know he didn't want to go to Sheogh with you?'  
I sobbed without a word.


	6. Chapter 6 Yshela

I cried for a while in Mommy's arms, feeling so safe, just like there was nothing beyond her embrace. It could be so. I sobbed for a last time. Mommy stroked me wiped my face.  
'Tomorrow there is a sacrifice. Will you go and do it?' she asked.  
'But... he will come see for sure....' I hesitated.  
'Show him you don't care. You will do a sacfirice anyway, and he comes to see every single one, so he will see you anyway.'  
'Right. I'll go do it.' I decided. Mommy smiled to me.  
'And I'm telling you the truth. All the men can't think while drunk and must drink sometimes. If he was drunk, don't be surprised he was with a nameless for him Blood Fury.'  
'My father did so, too?'  
'Of course! If you want, you may walk through whole Halad and count his bastards. There are many of them. That's why we have so few Blood Furies available to fight.'  
I stood up.  
'I'm going to see Tharlsan' I said and left. Shattelyn was still standing outside.  
'You may go back' Mommy said to her and she went to the tavern.


	7. Chapter 7 Tharlsan

I woke up feeling like death. Also there was something pushing me to the ground - I had no idea why I was on the floor instead of my bunk. I pushed a naked Blood Fury out of my chest, wondering where she came from. I stood up and felt like my brain was twisting and spinning and my stomach was coming up my throat. Instinctively I pulled my mask off of my face just a while before I turned my stomach inside out. Just after this I could think a little more clearly. I wondered why I was almost naked, as my mask was everything I was wearing. Then I remembered the last night party. The fainted bodies of other Assassins and Blood Furies were a clear sign that Laith made a really good moonshine. My head still hurt, so I put on my pants and went outside the bedroom, to our common bathroom and I poured a lot of cold water on my head. It helped, but then I remembered someone slamming the door. I wondered who it could be. All the Assassins and lots of the Blood Furies were already in our bedroom - was it another Fury? Or maybe a leader wanted to collect some army?  
I poured another bucket of water on my head and I felt much better, almost all right. I went back to our bedroom and found out almost all my clothes were covered with spew. It seemed I was not the only one to be sick from Laith's products. I watched my room-mates and the guest Furies. Some of them were wearing the opposite sex clothes - I couldn't help laughing at Laith dressed up like a Fury. Then I dressed up in most clean clothes, put all the dirty ones into the laundry basket - a Minotaur would go and collect them and then wash - and went downstairs, to the very common mass. I asked for some milk with very weak voice. I was lucky. Milk is not as hard to get as juices (which I drink only in Irollan), but yet not common and it's never enough for everyone, and the children are always first to get it. In fact, it wasn't very early, so the children were after their breakfast. But I was sure that not all of my last night party-mates wouldn't be as lucky.  
After two big mugs of milk I felt perfectly healthy. Then I asked for some real breakfast and I got the soldier's bread and some meat, covered in spices. It was very hot, but I love it. I can't understand why the wood elves prefer tasteless plants.  
Suddenly the door of the mass swung open and I caught a glimpse of Yshela. I wanted to run up to her, but when she noticed me, she just ran away.  
'Yshela! Wait!' I shouted, but it was already too late.


	8. Chapter 8 Tharlsan

After my breakfast I went to Eruina to ask her about Yshela. After all, Eruina is most common leader of her.  
'Yshela is one of these to guard the city while the rest is gone' she said. 'I'm going without her. Would you like to join me to the Darkwound Clan lands?'  
I refused. I rushed to Vayshan, who is my main leader, to ask him to leave me in the city. I was just about to miss second "happy hunt" in Irollan when Laith caught me.  
'Tharlsan! Would you like to go for a little trip to one of Free Cities, you know, this one there?' he pointed his finger up. 'We'll be back tomorrow.'  
My eyes lit up. Fight with Orcs! I never did it. And Vayshan wanted to lead us there before next "happy hunt", so I had an opportunity to ask him to let me stay.  
His answer was very short.  
'Ask Kythra. She stays here' he said. I went with him for Orcs. The fight wasn't long, as we didn't want to conquer the city but only take captives. We indeed came back the following day and I went to the Ritual Pit to see the sacrifice. I hoped I would see Yshela, but she wasn't there. The priestess who killed our captives was someone else, I knew her face from Sheogh, but I didn't know her name. She wasn't even half as pretty as Yshela.  
After the sacrifice I went to find Kythra and I did. I spoke to her and she agreed to add me into her own little unit of Assassins. Right after Vayshan left to Irollan and Eruina and Yrwanna - to Darkwound Clan lands, I was sent to the guard post. Yshela was there. When she saw me, she turned away and looked at the hour glass.  
'Yshela' I started to speak, but she interrupted me.  
'Watch your guard!' she snapped.  
'But...'  
'We aren't here to talk'  
She looked away, at the road to Darkwound. I probably was supposed to look at the road to the exit to the surface, and so I did. I wondered why she was so harsh for me.


	9. Chapter 9 Tharlsan

I had no idea why Yshela didn't want to talk to me. I knew that she was granddaughter of Tuidhana, but she never seemed proud of it; in fact, she never affirmed it. However she also didn't deny.  
I took a deep breath and came up to her.  
'Yshela' I said, taking my mask off. 'I love you.'  
My heartbeat was so loud that I was sure that even the neighbour clan could hear it. Yshela looked at me, read my tattoo and laughed like only we dark elves can, without a sound.  
'Does it mean that you want to take me to your bunk?' she asked cruelly.  
'No...' I said. 'At least not now...'  
Yshela laughed again.  
'Not now? So you first want to get rid of this Blood Fury you slept with last night?'  
'What?! I slept with a Blood Fury?!' I was astonished.  
'Yeah. I just went there to see and... there you were!'  
'But... but I was drunk!'  
'And when you got this tattoo, too?'  
'No' I said seriously. 'I was perfectly sober. I love you... since I saw you on the Ritual Pit.'  
Yshela was just about to say something when she noticed something moving. She had another look and tolled the alarm bell.  
'The Soulscars! Attacking!' she shouted and ran down the guard post tower.


	10. Chapter 10 Yshela

I rushed downstairs to join the rest of the girls. How could I be so reckless to just stand there and talk with this ass-hole?! The Soulscars could slay us all if I didn't notice...  
'Girls, I'm here!' I said and cracked my whip. Shattelyn nodded.  
'Just on time' she said and we both stood at our places, shooting at the Soulscars.  
'Damn it, help me someone!' we heard some Blood Furies shouting. I cast on her a spell which made them stronger, and then I did the same for the Minotaurs, Kythra's favourites. If not for her, they wouldn't be taught to fight but only to work, and as they were here, I could as well help them to fight. The Soulscars were attacking stronger and stronger, the brought more troops as the saw here in Halad were more soldiers than they firstly thought.  
I started lacking with magical energy to shoot so I ran to the proper battlefield, making my whip most deadly I could. I whipped the Soulscars and soon Shattelyn and the rest of the girls joined me. Our strongest troops were minotaurs, and they killed the Soulscars in whole dozens, but also the Assassin's poison caused them troubles. I didn't even glance at Tharlsan who still shot the enemies, but fought. Their great advantage was that they could fetch as many reinforcements as they had in their clan and we were only as many as in Halad.  
Defending the town was my only aim and I didn't care of my friends fighting anywhere else or myself. It may have been a mistake. When I was fighting with some Furies of Soulscar, their Grim Raider hit me on my back and i fell down, unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11 Tharlsan

I saw Yshela falling down and my heart almost stopped. I shot and shot still until the Soulscars retreated and then I ran up to Yshela. Thanks Malassa she was still alive. I checked her breath and looked at her wounds. They weren't so severe as I thought first, but she kept bleeding. I tore up my shirt to make bandages, as there were none within my reach. Then I gently lifted Yshela.  
'Where should I take her?' I asked. 'To infirmary?'  
'I think that's the best idea' one of the other witches said. 'Then come back, there are more wounded...'  
I didn't care of the others, but I did as the witch told me. I left Yshela at the infirmary and then I helped to carry there the rest of injured. After this all I sat by Yshela's bed and watched her calm face. She didn't look like she hurt. In fact, she looked so beautiful even now, lying on the infirmary bed, wrapped in bandages. I was sure that I was going to stay by her side until she wakes up again.


	12. Chapter 12 Yshela

I woke up and first that I realised was that I was in the infirmary. The second was pain in my arm and back. And the third - Thalsan with his face in my breasts. I knew that slapping wasn't the best idea, so I just poked him. He woke up immediately.  
'Oh - Yshela! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! You were unconscious for ages and I... I just fell asleep...'  
I had no strength to agrue with him. I just lay there.  
'I... I wanted also... to apologise... I shouldn't have... gotten drunk...' he kept saying. I stayed silent.  
'Yshela... I wish you believed me. I love you... really...'  
'Tharlsan, I...' I started, but I saw someone very special in the door.  
'Master Sinitar!' Tharlsan shouted in surprise. 'May Malassa bless you!'  
'You too, Assassin. May you leave for a while? It's personal.'  
'Okay' Tharlsan said and left. He understood that parents never want witnesses when talking to their children.  
'How are you, Yshela?' Daddy asked. I smiled weakly.  
'Quite fine...' I said. Daddy laughed.  
'You can't deceive me. You suffer a lot.'  
I nodded.  
'So why you asked?'  
Daddy laughed again and didn't answer.  
'And how about the Soulscars?' I asked.  
'Nothing worth saying.'  
'You were gone for over a month! You won't deceive me that nothing happened! You can wear this silly mask on your face but never on your heart!'  
Daddy took off his mask. Scars on his face never seemed strange or scary for me and Daddy's eyes are just beautiful. Daddy always said that he wouldn't marry Mommy if he didn't take off his mask in front of her and show his eyes.  
'It was a secret mission, so I can't tell you what information I gathered. I told this the Keeper of the Law and our Clanlord.'  
'They're getting married in several months' I said, smiling happily. 'And you can tell me if you gathered enough information!'  
Daddy laughed.  
'I managed to answer all the questions I had to. But enough this talk... I have to go to the Clanlord again. Can I let this young man in?'  
'Of course' I smiled. I was ready to believe Tharlsan.


	13. Chapter 13 Tharlsan

I walked back into the infirmary, full of hope as Sinitar told me that Yshela wanted to see me. I sat by her side, knowing that she shouldn't sit up.  
'Yshela... you wanted to tell me something...' I said. She laughed, but it was a pleasant laughter.  
'Yes. I wanted to tell you... that I love you.'  
I was astonished.  
'Are you serious? You seemed to hate me!'  
'I only seemed, because I saw you with this Fury...'  
'I was drunk...'  
'I know.'  
'So... you forgive me?'  
Yshela laughed again.  
'Yes, you fool...'  
I smiled and took off my mask.  
'I showed it to you, but now, when you believe me...'  
'Bow down.'  
As I did as she told me, she kissed me right in the tattoo. Then I heard Sinitar laughing behind the door.  
'Just as us when we were young' he said.  
'Yes, but they did it quicker' I heard Eruina's voice.


End file.
